Liz Smith MSP is currently putting forward a Private Bill in the Scottish Parliament, which if passed would make a 5 day Residential an entitlement for all Scottish children of school age (either in Primary or Secondary school). This means that if passed, the Scottish Government would pay for it.
This is a one in a life time opportunity, but the bill has four major hurdles to get past before it becomes law. In December 2024, the Education, Young People and Education Committee scrutinised and then allowed the bill to go to a full vote in the Parliament chamber towards the end of March.
If you think residentials are worthwhile and should be paid for - this is time to write to your MSP and encourage them to vote for the next stage, which would be to allow further committee scrutiny. If MSP's vote no in March, the bill is dead in the water.
To find who your MSP is, go to here, and enter your postcode. Remember you have a constituency MSP and list MSP's, however they will only respond to if you live in their constituency. You can find their email address on the Scottish Parliament website here.
Suggested content of the letter is here. Please complete the details highlighted in yellow, change the colour of the text and send to your MSP's
However we strongly advise that you write personally to your MSP with your own experience of residentials (either as a parent or a child) and encourage them to vote for the next stage. Use some of the points made in the letter above as a basis of what you write.
You can track the progress of the bill on the Scottish Parliament Website here.
A recent video from Liz is below
